"How you like the Jordan, Mr. Geoff?'

Hello All,

Well it's been a pretty busy last few weeks. Figured it would be time to update everyone on my most recent adventures.

My good friend, Matthias and his girlfriend Anna just visited Jordan a couple weeks back. We did a good amount of sightseeing around Amman, then to the north in Jerash and Salt. Earlier that week, Matthias rented a car and they headed south to Petra for a day and a half (where Matthias was unfortunately ravaged by these super mosquitoes). My classmate Veronica was nice enough to host both Matthias and Anna for the nights they stayed in Amman.

In addition to our sightseeing, they got to experience some of Amman's best restaurants. The night Matthias arrived, I took him to an authentic Jordanian restaurant where we ate cold mezze (typically pita, hummus, vegetables,), followed by mishawi mishakala (basically lamb, beef, and chicken served with pita). We capped off the meal off with some Arabic coffee and watermelon mint arguileh (hookah). The the night before they flew home, Matthias and Anna treated me to dinner at one the nicest Lebanese restaurants in Amman. Between the sightseeing, and the great food, I got the sense they enjoyed their trip to the Middle East.

Class has been going well as usual. This language is immensely frustrating at times, but I've come to grips with the fact that there's a different learning curve with Arabic. Unfortunately, you simply can't learn this language with the ease in which you can pick up a Romance language, plain and simple. My Level I final exam is scheduled for a week from tomorrow, which will be followed by a short 3-4 day break before the beginning of the next term. I had originally hoped to travel to either Beirut or Israel over the break but those plans never really came to fruition. Instead I'm thinking I might head down to Aqaba for a couple days. Apparently the weather has been quite nice there on the Red Sea. It'll be great to get a couple days on the beach before heading back to Amman and buckling down for the Spring term.

I'm thinking I will take a supplementary course next term to focus on Jordanian Colloquial Arabic. To this point I've picked up a little Jordanian dialect strictly through osmosis, listening to people speaking on the streets. Otherwise I've been speaking the more formal, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, known in Arabic as Fusha), though this sometimes gets you some funny looks from Arabs who commonly speak Jordanian ammiyya (dialect) with each other.

I've also decided that I will move apartments at the end of the month. I'm looking to move with with a couple other Qasid students near Downtown Amman. The area which we're looking at has a number of good cafes, bookshops, and a couple Western-friendly bars that we go to periodically. Additionally, the area is a bit more affordable than where I'm currently living. We've started apartment searching just recently, and are hoping to get a nice three bedroom place in a newer building (newer building typically equals reliable utilities, as well as internet connection).

This weekend I'm looking to buckle down in preparation for the final exam. Then's its off to Aqaba and the Red Sea.

Wish me luck on the final. ~G